Beijing Hutong with Rickshaw, Great Bell Museum, Drum Tower

This day Beijing tour begins at 08:30am and ends at around 5:00pm. Please get everything ready before our English-speaking guide meets you in the lobby of the hotel where you stay. It’s about 20 minutes driving to the first stop of the main attractions, Hutong.  

As you might have known, one of the unique features of Beijing is its numerous Hutongs, which means small lanes. The life of ordinary people in these lanes contributes greatly to the charm of this ancient capital. In these small lanes, you will find many siheyuan, or quadrangles that are the living quarters of ordinary Beijing locals. Beijing’s Hutongs are not only an appellation for the lanes but also a kind of architecture. It’s the living environment of ordinary Beijing locals. It reflects the vicissitude of society. Most of the Hutongs look almost the same with grey walls and bricks. There are often four to ten families with an average of 20 people sharing the rooms of one courtyard complex. The main attraction of Hutong life is a friendly and interpersonal communication. Children living in one courtyard play together and grow up like one family. For the elderly, the charm comes from each other’s company. 

Around 09:00am, you will be arriving in the square between the Great Bell Museum and the Drum Tower. We would like to offer Beijing Hutong tour with rickshaw from here. You will observe and learn how Beijing locals have their real life every day. The rickshaw puller and our English-speaking guide will take you to a local family for a home visit. Together with the hostess or host, you can go to the local market for lunch food, such as vegetables, meat, etc. The hostess or host will teach you how to make the dumplings or noodles. Obviously you will enjoy this Chinese lunch made by yourselves. Four hours are needed to experience Beijing Hutong local real life. 

After lunch if time permits, you will go for a visit to a kindergarten, the old folks’ home or a hospital.  

In the afternoon, you will be taken for a visit to the mansion of Prince Gong of Qing Dynasty, which was the Residence of the Last Qing Emperor’s Father. The mansion is the most exquisitely decorated and best preserved among the princes' mansions in Beijing, and beside the residence there is also a large garden. The mansion consists of two parts: living quarters and the garden, covering 56,000 square meters. The living quarters run along three axes - central, eastern and western, altogether having 1,000 rooms. People can imagine the grandeur from its green glazed-tile roofs. The garden of Prince Gong's Mansion covers 25,000 square meters, with artificial rockeries, covered corridors and pavilions. It is said the Grand View Garden described in the novel "A Dream of Red Mansions" was modeled after this garden. 

Not far from the mansion of Prince Gong is the Former Residence of Soong Ching Ling, late Honorary Chairman of the People's Republic of China. Led by the rickshaw puller and our English-speaking guide, you come to Yin Ding Bridge with a ride past the Former Residence of Soong Ching Ling. After a short view of Shichahai, you can come to the bar street for a drink. This tour will end with the visit to the Drum Tower. With sixty-nine steps climbing to the Drum Tower, you may happen to see the performance of beating drums every half hour. After a short view of Great Bell Museum, both old and modern Beijing, an exciting Yangge, which is a popular rural folk dance is arranged.

We would like to end this day tour with the transfer back to your hotel at around 5:00pm. We hope that this day tour arrangement just fits your need. We look forward to hearing from you.

Beijing Hutong Tour listen old beijing Story

A visit to Hutong by pedicab
A hutong is an ancient city alley or lane typical in Beijing. Existed as early as hundreds of years ago, narrow lanes, or hutongs were common in ancient Beijing. In the past, several thousand lanes, alleys and quadrangles(siheyuan), formed residential areas for ordinary people living in the capital. Today, as the city develops into an international metropolis, its lanes and alleyways, occupying one third of the city proper, still serve as dwellings for half the total urban population. If sightseeing at the Imperial Palace, Ming Tombs and the summer palace is helpful in learning about the lives of China's emperors, the Hutongs of Beijing reflect in turn the lives of ordinary Beijing people as a whole. So roaming through Beijing's old, narrow streets, hutongs, by old-fashioned pedicab has attracted more and more overseas visitors.

(1hour tour) 180RMB or $23/p
(2.5 hour) 240RMB or $30/p (including lunch)

join in our Beijing Half day tour to Hutong,Tiananmen Square,Fibbidden city ....

Beijing Old Hutong & Courtyard Experience Tour - Chinese Traditional Culture Learning Tour

Rickshaw Beijing is the name of visiting Beijing old hutong and Courtyard ( Siheyuan ) organized by tour-beijing travel service. Learning and experiencing Chinese culture by seeing the old hutong and courtyard left from the past.


Welcome to take our three selected Beijing old hutong and courtyard tours:

Hutong ( narrow alleys )
1. Hutong's Origin:
The word "hutong" is Mongolian in origin, meaning a "water well". In the old time with the digging of new wells, came the new communities. Later it was referred to as narrow streets or lanes formed by quadrangles. The word " hutong" with the meaning of narrow lanes was formed during the Yuan Dynasty in the 13th century when the Mongols, led by Genghis Khan, occupied Beijing, then the capital of the Jin Dynasty. In 1260 Kubla Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, established the Yuan Dynasty. Kubla Khan chosed Beijing as his capital. During the takeover by the Mongols, the old city had been largely demolished, and so he decided to rebuild the city. When the new city was finished, there were clear definitions of streets, lanes and hutongs. A 36 metre wide road was called a "big street". An 18 metre wide one a "small street", and a 9 metre wide lane was called a "hutong". Surrounding the Imperial Palace, hutongs were established throughout the Yuan (1206-1341), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties. Most of the hutongs we see today were built during the Ming and Qinq. You only still find a very few hutongs preserved from the Yuan Dynasty.
2. Hutong's names:
Like streets, hutongs have their names. Some have had only one name since their establishment and others have had a few names throughout their history. Beijing was once a consumer city. A lot of hutong names are linked to the names of food. Some are connected to the names of the places, the temples, daily necessities, trades, light industry, plants, people's names and even government's organs.
Food names, such as Miancha Hutong ( noodle and tea )
Temples, Baoguosi Hutong ( Baoguo Temple )
Daily necessities, Caomao Hutong ( straw hat )
Place names, as Inner Xizhimen Hutong
Plants, such as Liushu Hutong (Liushu means willow) 
Light industry, as Damuchang Hutong ( big wood factory )
People's names, as Songguniang Hutong ( Ms Liu )
Government organs, as Jingcha Hutong ( Police Bureau )
3. Hutong Development:
When the new city of Yuan Dynasty was established, it is recorded that there were about 390 roads formed by the rows of quadrangles. Some of were called streets and lanes, and some "hutongs". There wre over 900 hutongs were listed in Qing Dynasty. The records increased to 1,330 by 1949. Now many of the old hutongs have been turned down and replaced by the high buildings and wide roads of today’s Beijing. Many citizens have to leave the narrow lanes where their families have lived there for generations, and residing in apartment buildings with modern facilities. However,some of Beijing’s ancient hutongs still survive, due to the local government's protection policy and people's request. Many have been listed as protected areas. So these ancient neighborhoods today provide a glimpse of the real life in the capital city as it has been for generations. Many hutongs are being restored and renovated.In Beijing, there are mainly two hutong areas well preserved - Shichahai area in Dongcheng District and Qianmen area in Xuanwu District. The hutongs in the area of the Bell Tower and Shichahai Lake are especially well preserved whch attract lots of tourists who travel the hutongs by pedicabs.

beijing Hutong,travel beijing old hutong with local beijing tour

“Hutong”, which means “alley” in English, began to build in Yuan dynasties. Through development of three dynasties of Yuan, Ming and Qing, Beijing Hutong has been formed. At the two sides of the Hutong are traditional dwelling house “Siheyuan”. All the “Siheyuan” were build orderly with gray brick and tile. When you come to a Siheyuan, you will be surprised to find that all the directions in which have houses. It is the reason why we call it “Siheyuan”. In which, there are always old trees, big goldfish tank and one or two pets, and people lived there are always comfortable and peaceful. Beijing “Hutong” reflects the ancient life of common people in the past; it witnesses the history vicissitudes in hundreds of years.

Now “Hutong” has become special scenery in Beijing and Living in “Hutong” is a new fashionable way of life. Most of foreigners from all over the world would like to try this novel living style and experience the common life of Beijing people. Some of them even rent or buy such dwelling house as their home in Beijing.